2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Fantasy Second Basemen

Not only is he a talented and consistently productive player, but New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano is both of those things at a fantasy position relatively scarce of such players.

As an example, the 12th-best batting average among qualified second basemen last year was .259. Only five of them had 20-plus home runs and six had more than 75 runs batted in.

While the position is a decent source of stolen bases, many of the top basestealers at the position either had a low batting average or little power production (or both). Seven second basemen stole 20-plus bases and only one of that group hit .260 or better with double-digit home runs: Boston's Dustin Pedroia.

With the exception of stolen bases, Cano is elite in all four other categories of standard 5x5 rotisserie leagues. Stealing just three bases in 2012, Cano actually stole eight bases in 2011. If he steals close to that number again, just consider it gravy.

Last year, Cano hit .313 with 33 home runs and 94 runs batted in, all of which led second basemen. In addition, he scored 105 runs, which tied him with Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers.

Going forward, he remains a lock to be the leader or very close to it in those four categories among second basemen.

Over the past four seasons, Cano has the following minimums: .302 average, 25 home runs, 103 runs scored and 85 runs batted in. When it comes to power numbers, those four-year lows actually occurred four seasons ago. He has averaged exactly 30 home runs and 107 runs batted in the past three seasons.

As a career .308 hitter, Cano has had only two seasons below .300: in 2005 he batted .297 and in 2008 he batted .271. Looking at his pre- and post-All Star numbers since 2009, he has never hit below .296 in any of those eight splits. Not only is he consistent year after year, but he is also consistent within the year.

Last but certainly not least, Cano is durable. Over the past six years he has never missed more than three games in any season and has missed a total of only 12 games over that span.

At a position with many question marks, Cano is the surest of sure things.

BrandonPhillips: A Lock for 18-15 (or Better)?

Although it was six seasons ago, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips has a 30-30 season under his belt. While he's been a consistent source of both home runs and stolen bases, you should expect about half those numbers in 2013.

Since 2006, Phillips is only one stolen base (in 2011) shy of having seven consecutive seasons of 15-plus home runs and 15-plus stolen bases. After three straight 20-20 seasons (including the 30-30 season) from 2007-09, Phillips has failed to reach 20 of either in the past three seasons.

From 2010-12, he has hit exactly 18 home runs each year and has stolen 16, 14 and 15 bases, respectively. Phillips is a solid five-category contributor at the position with a three-year average line of .285/93/18/73/15.

While he has held relatively steady in stolen bases, his number of attempted swipes has continued to drop. Over the past four years, here are his number of attempted steals: 34 (2009), 28 (2010), 23 (2011) and 17 (2012).

Chase Utley: Can He Stay Healthy For a Full Season?

From 2005-09, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley was as good as it gets at second base. During that five-year stretch, he hit .301 and averaged 111 runs scored, 29 home runs, 101 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases.

Since then, however, he's been a shell of his former self.

Utley has played in a total of 301 games over the past three seasons with those numbers dropping each season: 115 (2010), 103 (2011) and 83 (2012).

Now that he's healthy (or at least healthier) and participating in spring training games for the first time since 2010, Utley should give fantasy owners (much) more in 2013 than he has recently.

While owners should not expect numbers close to the 2005-09 range, it's possible that he comes close to a 20-15 season if things go well.

Here are my second basemen rankings for the 2013 fantasy baseball season (based on Yahoo! eligibility):